JETTA'S TALL TALE (Episode
134a)

Jetta feels a twinge of jealousy when the other children make a fuss
over Emily Elizabeth's wonderful big pet Clifford, so she blurts out a
story about her own wonderful big peta huge parrot named Lulu. Her little
lie quickly grows into a big mess, forcing Jetta to dress Clifford up
as a bird to try to keep the lie from being exposed. Her conscience finally
makes her do the right thing and she apologizes for having created the
lie in the first place.

Clifford's
Big Idea: Be Truthful

Objective:Dealing openly with bad feelings helps resolve them. All feelings
have names, so it's important to help children match what they're feeling
to a name so that they can tell someone and begin to resolve their feelings.
These activities on the theme of feelings will help develop

social and emotional skills

cognitive skills

Feelings
Dial

Use our PRINTABLE FEELINGS DIAL
or, with a crayon, divide a paper plate into four sections, like
a pizza. With the child, choose four feelings to represent on
the plate, such as

happy

contented

grouchy

scared

tired

excited

worried

Cut an arrow pointer from cardboard and attach it with a brass fastener
so that it turns like a clock hand. Mount the feelings dial where the
child can reach it easily. Encourage the child to use the dial to show
how he or she is feeling.

Facing
Feelings

Have a mirror available so that you can show the child how his or her
facial expression changes for different emotions. Point out the changes
in the child's eyebrows, mouth, and eyes. Remind the child that people
can usually tell how we are feeling by the look on our face.

I'm
Sorry

Apologizing is a hard task at any age. Talk about a time when you had
to apologize to someone when you felt you were wrong. What words did
you use? How did you do it? In a letter? In person? On the telephone?
Ask the child to talk about a time when they were asked to or felt the
urge to apologize to someone. What are some instances in which apologizing
is necessary? When we've made a mistake, when we've hurt someone's feelings,
when we've said something we didn't mean to say. Have a discussion about
what it means to say "I'm sorry".